Chapter 23

I expected the queen's dining hall to be as unpleasant, dark, and filled with blood and bones as the throne room had been. It did have the maroon, blood-colored walls, and there were bones everywhere, but in a starkly different way. There were no decaying bodies hanging from the ceiling, but there were six grand chandeliers made from skulls. They increased in size as they dropped, tiny animal ones at the top, and ending with human looking ones. Candles flickered inside the mouths, casting shadows over the table below, which was carved from very dark wood and set magnificently with black crockery and fine green-tinged glassware.

Huge arch-shaped windows dominated one wall of the room, spanning from the floor to the ceiling. So far, they had been the only thing that reminded me of the Gold Court palace; except the view from these ones showed no bright, golden warmth. They showed a velvet blanket, pinpricked with stars, over the sparkling lights and motion of the towns dotting the mountain side below.

The opposite wall held a dresser built into the space, probably twenty feet long. At intervals there were decanters filled with liquids of varying colors, and the odd statue of a snake or raven.

The Queen sat at the head of the table, and the sight of her made my skin prickle and feel inexplicably too tight for my body.

She was dressed similarly to when I'd last seen her, in a tight black gown. Her hair was up in an equally elaborate style. The only obvious difference was the absence of blood trickling down her cheeks.

"My son. Peculiar little gold-giver ," she acknowledged us as we entered. A human thrall, dressed in a thin black robe that left little to the imagination, immediately darted forward, pulling out a chair on her left. I looked at the Prince, and he nodded at the chair, indicating I was to go in that direction.

“Where is Rangvald?” he asked as he went to the other side of the table, taking the seat opposite mine. The wood of the chair was the same as the table, dark and rich, and the upholstered seat had a pattern made up of intertwined snakes. I sat, trying to keep my heightening nerves at bay.

The Queen’s predatory gaze roved over me, and I found myself distinctly grateful for the headband the Prince had warded. It felt warm on my head, as though reminding me of its presence.

“He will be here shortly.” She gave me a strange smile, her black eyes hard to read. “How was your first night in our home?”

“Very comfortable. Thank you.”

I glanced at the Prince long enough to see a tiny flicker of relief on his face.

“If you are comfortable, then my son is not doing his job properly.” She looked at him. “Mazrith? Why have you allowed this little tool of our enemies comfort?”

I couldn’t help my intake of breath when I looked at the Prince.

His face had changed completely. The rough warrior was gone, and the beautiful fae was beaming through instead. Promise filled his eyes as his lips turned up in a sinful smile. When he spoke, seduction laced his tone.

“You will not be so comfortable tomorrow, my little gildi .”

He had just called me his little feast.

My heart hammered in my chest, and I tried to take my eyes from his beautiful, compelling, desire-filled face.

I opened my mouth to tell him he could feast elsewhere, but all that came out was a slow breath.

This was an act. An act for his stepmother.

And I wasn’t supposed to understand the language.

The Queen gave an unpleasantly high-pitched laugh. “My son, I don’t know how much fight you’ll get from this one. She seems rather slow.”

The doors at the end of the room burst open and the man from the day before with the balding head and silver slippers strode into the room, bowing low. “My Queen, forgive my tardiness. I am, as ever, at your disposal.”

He moved to my side of the table, and with a sinking feeling, I realized he was headed for the chair next to mine. “And a good day to you. Reyna, is it?”

I nodded, but stayed silent. He clapped his hands as he sat down, and a stream of thralls entered the room, carrying trays. They were set down in an efficient parade, clearly well practiced. Plates were placed in front of each of us, all covered with a silver cloche.

Apprehension skittered through my gut, the thought of the bodies on the ceiling from yesterday filling my head. What would be under the dome covering the plate? I looked sideways at the Queen, my nerves increasing as I saw the delighted stare she was giving me.

I held my breath as the human slaves moved behind each of us, reaching over to grip the cloches. As one, they lifted the domes, then disappeared from the room.

I stared down at my plate. There were two pale cuts of meat and piles of delicately arranged vegetables in colors I had never seen in food. I poked at something bright orange.

“It’s a carrot,” the Queen said slowly. “You have never seen a carrot?”

I shook my head, cheeks burning at how stupid she was making me feel. Cruel amusement shone in her face, and she reached over to my plate, lifting the slices of orange vegetable from them with her fingers.

“Really, you have picked a fine wife here,” she said sarcastically, turning to Mazrith and holding up the carrot. “Is she mute?”

“Sadly not,” he said, with an equally sarcastic smile at me, which quickly turned wolfish, and my face burned even hotter.

“Open your mouth,” the Queen said, turning back to me.

“No.” The word snapped out. I couldn’t have held it back if I’d wanted to.

She pouted at me. “Oh, little girl, you need to do as you are told. If I am to be denied the pleasure of killing you, you must at least let me have a little fun.”

Fear made my breath come quicker as she reached to one side with her empty hand and lifted her staff.

My eyes snagged on it, momentarily lifting me from my situation.

It was like no staff I had ever seen.

On the outside, it looked like a shadow staff, a silver skull on the top and a series of snakes writhing over it in an arch. Not too far in design from the Prince’s. But there was something about it…

I leaned forward without even realizing I had moved.

Shadows rushed from the end of it, whipping around me and pinning me to the back of the chair. Ice cold tendrils solidified as snakes, and they slithered across my face, making me gasp.

The Prince’s voice sounded in my head. “Let her play with you.”

I paused my struggling long enough to glare at him. He looked back at me, a bored, imperious expression on his face that didn’t match the tightness of his mental voice.

A shadow snake eased its way across my jaw, then pushed at my closed lips.

Panic and nausea combined, and I shook my head hard. Nothing would dislodge the shadows though.

The Queen laughed. “I only want to be a part of such an important experience. Your first carrot. I find trying new things so rewarding.”

“Open your accursed mouth and let her do it.” This time the Prince’s voice was angry, but when I looked at him he was forking a potato into his own mouth, appearing completely indifferent.

A growl in the back of my throat escaped, and the snake forced itself between my lips.

The Queen sprang up from her chair, and the shadows moved, dragging my head back. She dropped the slices of carrot into my open mouth, before my jaw slammed back closed with enough force to make me see stars.

The shadows seeped away. I blinked groggily, pain welling up in the back of my head.

“Don’t forget to chew,” the Queen said sweetly, sitting down again.

“You know, as my betrothed, it should be me who feeds her,” the Prince said mildly.

“I can feed myself,” I said, my words slurred. I tried to chew the warm vegetable in my mouth, anger and pain making my face burn.

“Then eat,” the Prince said.

The Queen gave me another smile, then turned her attention to her own food.

Silence fell over the room as she tucked in. The Prince gave me a pointed look, and I forced myself to swallow the carrot and scoop up more food. I avoided the meat, deciding not to trust the Queen even an ounce.

“So, how are your plans coming along?” she said to Mazrith eventually. “I can’t wait to hear exactly why you need to marry this pathetic human to execute them.” Her sickly sweet voice carried an obvious undercurrent of anger.

“I have to wait for Tait to finish his current staff, then he will be assisting us. You will have an update at the end of the week.”

I stabbed at something green and bean-shaped a little too hard, my fork scraping on the plate.

“Tell me Reyna, have you ever worked for the Queen of your disgusting Court?” the Queen asked.

I shook my head, feeling myself tense. The Queen of the Gold Court was her sister. “No. I have never worked for her.”

It wasn’t strictly true. I had repaired a small part of the Queen’s staff a few years ago, but I hadn’t interacted with her directly for more than a few minutes.

“Do you know if she is healthy?” The question surprised me. I hadn’t thought her capable of compassion.

“I believe so, yes.”

The Queen’s face darkened. “Accursed fucking female.”

I went back to my vegetables. Not compassion after all, then.

“And Reyna, how many gold-givers did you work with in the palace?” Rangvald’s voice was amiable, and I eyed him warily.

“A few.”

“How many?”

“Five.” There was no point lying to him. They had three of us already. “How many shadow-spinners work in this palace?” I threw the question out with no expectation of an answer. Or, in fact, any real interest in the answer. But when he spoke, my attention moved entirely to him.

“Two.”

Only two?

My surprise must have shown on my face, because he gave me a small shrug. “Rare things, the rune-marked.” His eyes flicked from the mark on my wrist to the Queen. She had her whole steak impaled on her fork, ripping away lumps with her black teeth like a lion would, a slightly demented look in her eyes.

Fucking crazy didn’t come close to what this female was.

“Yes. Rare indeed,” the Prince growled. His plate was empty and he rose. “Thank you for the meal. We must get back to our business.”

The Queen looked up at him, eyes wide. “Oh no, you must stay. I have dessert. Something Reyna here will love.”

I stood up too, doing my very best to keep my expression neutral.

“Food has stirred my… appetites . My betrothed and I are leaving. Now.” His eyes locked onto me, and his bright blue gaze moved up and down my body in obvious approval.

It wasn’t just my cheeks that heated under his gaze. My whole accursed body reacted.

The Queen raised an eyebrow as she sighed. “There is no fighting with a man’s desires.” She waved a hand. “Dismissed. For now.”

Mazrith strode from the room immediately, the doors flying open just before he reached them. I hurried after him, aware of Rangvald’s piercing eyes on me the whole time.

As soon as I was sure the door was closed behind us, I spoke. “Just so you know, if you are actually planning to take me to bed—”

He turned to me, cutting my words off. “Your whole world would change in one night. But that is not my plan.” His eyes glinted as I swallowed. “I am sick of fighting her. It is easier to play her game, to speak a language she understands.”

“You are trying to convince her you took me as your betrothed because you are interested in me…” I trailed off.

“Sexually,” he finished for me, and heat flushed every single inch of my body. His eyes flickered down my reddening chest, then darkened. “Yes. I am trying to convince her of that. Do you wish that I was?”

I was saved from answering by the doors slamming open and Rangvald’s voice ringing across the hall.

“Prince Mazrith!”

His eyes bore into mine a second longer, then the Prince turned to the slimy fae.

“Rangvald.”

“The Queen wishes to extend an invitation to you and your betrothed.”

“We are busy.”

“Ah, but not too busy to attend your own betrothal ball.” He smiled obsequiously, and rubbed his hands together as he looked between us.

“I do not wish for a betrothal ball,” the Prince ground out. “But thank her for her thoughtfulness.”

“Oh, but it is too late. The arrangements have been made. It begins at midnight.”

“Tonight?” The word popped out of my mouth.

Rangvald’s lips curled up even higher. “The Queen’s Court are more than willing to do as she bids, as quickly as she bids them. And, she wishes to throw her beloved son a party, so that all may see just why he has taken a human thrall as his bound wife.” The words hardened, and so did Mazrith’s stare. “Members of Court are whispering, Mazrith. You must show them that Reyna here is worthy of a position in our palace.”

“I will see you at midnight, then,” he growled.

Rangvald dipped his head, then strode back into the dining room, his slippered feet silent on the tiles.

The Prince bared his teeth, then began to ascend the grand staircase.

“How can she plan and throw a ball in one day?” I muttered as I followed him.

“Within these walls she can do as she pleases. She was my father’s wife,” he spat, before whirling to face me. “She has taken the game a step further. We must play it.”

“What do you mean?” I blinked up at him, towering over me on the staircase.

“Prove to the courtiers that I have taken you as an interesting plaything. That I am using you to taunt our enemies.”

I bared my teeth. “I am not a fucking toy.”

“Have I treated you as one?”

I glared at him.

“You took me from my home and threatened to kill my friends.”

“And I have treated you and them with respect since, as I gave my word I would.”

He hadn’t laid a finger on me, which in itself was strange. All the fae of Yggdrasil took whatever they wanted. And the Prince of the Shadow Court was legendary for wanting everything.

“And when you no longer have a use for me?”

He took a step down, level with me, eyes blazing. “You won’t get a chance to find out if my stepmother loses patience. As much as I loathe saying it, father’s passing left her as the ruler of this Court. Play her fucking game, and you might stay off her ceiling long enough to find out what I’ll do with you.”

Power thrummed through the air between us, and I believed him. Both his threat, and what he believed the Queen capable of.

“What do I have to do?”

“Exactly as you’re told.”

Shit.